I am excited to announce this relationship between the Soccer Parenting Association and the South Carolina Youth Soccer Association. If you have not yet checked out the parent education platform MySoccerParenting.com - be sure to do so! It's is a constantly expanding resource for youth soccer parents. Now all clubs in South Carolina can provide access to their families at a substantial … [Read more...]

Later tonight Dr. Joseph Machnik will be inducted into the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame, an honor he deserves for his roles in coach and goalkeeper education, as a referee, coach, commentator, leader and pioneer. Dr. Machnik’s legacy runs deep, and I am immensely proud to say I am even a small part of it.
As a young staff coach for the No. 1 Camps, Doc’s belief in me inspired me towards a career in … [Read more...]

Dear National Council Voting Members:
We are counting on you.
Later this week you will choose a new U.S. Soccer President, and with this election comes the possibility for change – real change. We have no vote in the election; therefore, us millions of passionate soccer people across the country are counting on you.
There is a pervasive lack of trust in our soccer ecosystem that is … [Read more...]

Can we talk about Pay-to-Play for a moment?
Can we be rational and realistic about the financial model youth sports is based upon and stop calling for an end to Pay-to-Play?
Can we pause, reflect and recognize that it is impossible to end Pay-to-Play for organized sports? There are field costs, coaching and club management costs, insurance and uniform expenses, referee fees, not to mention … [Read more...]

The dust has settled, the emotional pleas for change have waned, and 3 months post the near apocalyptic event of the U.S. Men’s National Team failing to qualify for the World Cup we are in the middle of a U.S.S.F. Presidential race that is receiving media bandwidth like never before.
There is a cautiously optimistic feeling permeating the frustrated, fed up, ready for change American soccer … [Read more...]

On February 8, 2018, at the U.S. Soccer AGM in Orlando, Florida - a new United States Soccer Federation President will be elected. This is an incredibly significant election, at an important crossroads in our U.S. Soccer history as our U.S. Men recently failed to qualify for the World Cup and the gaps in the international women’s game are quickly tightening, all while our youth soccer … [Read more...]

The term "Parent Engagement" has become a buzzword in youth soccer recently. Clubs are working to develop Parent Engagement Programs and, likewise, parents are being encouraged to get more involved. There is some confusion though.
What does Parent Engagement mean?
Parents often are confused because historically they have been told to DISengage. Parents know they don't want to hover or be a … [Read more...]

Ask any professional soccer player what they wanted to be when they were younger, and they will likely say “a professional soccer player.” And I can almost guarantee that many of them wrote down on some school assignment or in a journal that they wanted to be a professional soccer player.
When I was young, I wrote down that I wanted to be a professional soccer player everywhere I could. I … [Read more...]